


So This Is Love?

by lord_loveandstuff



Series: Clayleb Week '19 [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Falling In Love, First Crush, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 10:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21318331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lord_loveandstuff/pseuds/lord_loveandstuff
Summary: Caduceus' thoughts and feelings after Caleb gave him the Periapt of Would Closure. [Takes place at the start of episode 41]Clayleb Week Day 1: From the Ashes - Early Days
Relationships: Caduceus Clay & Fjord, Caduceus Clay/Caleb Widogast
Series: Clayleb Week '19 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536838
Kudos: 55





	So This Is Love?

**Author's Note:**

> I love Clayleb so I'm gonna at least try to complete all the prompts this week. So here's a nice short and sweet story to start off with.

“Okay, I feel like shit, so I’m going to go to bed.”

Caduceus nodded with a polite smile. “Thank you for this. I won’t forget it.” 

The door closed softly as Caleb made his exit. A second barely went by before Caduceus’ ears perked up slightly to listen beyond what he couldn't see. Caleb’s footsteps could barely be heard as he assumably went to his chambers, but there were no more sounds of life except for the sea below. Once the footsteps stopped, Caduceus came back into reality. The firbolg was left in the middle of his room, staring where Caleb was standing before. His heart was still pounding in his chest and his hands had a bit of a shake. 

Caduceus inspected the gift that now dangled around his neck. It was a gold chain necklace with an extravagant pendant. Three red gems were placed together, vaguely resembling a heart-like shape. Golden rims held them together, and two hands of a similar gold color clasped the gems at the bottom. Caduceus typically saw Jester with this kind of jewelry, as it was loud, shiny, and expensive looking. He had never been given something that looked quite like the periapt. His family were simply people, there was no need for such fancy things. 

His large thumb slowly moved across the pedant’s surface absentmindedly. His mind wandered back to Caleb. The man seemed pretty transparent when they first met, but he was becoming harder to figure out as Caduceus spent more time with the group. One second Caduceus believes he finally understands Caleb’s thoughts and actions, but then the next he is proven wrong. There’s something about him that seemed so detrimental, but only to himself. 

Caduceus’ thoughts continued as he made his way to his bed, careful not to wake up a sleeping Fjord only a few feet away. He thought about Caleb’s feelings throughout their conversation. His worry as he asked if Caduceus was leaving the group, his sadness at the thought of a type of destiny existing, his shock when told of his capability. The wizard swore that he didn’t show many emotions, but he was very expressive without even realizing it. Especially his eyes. 

Caduceus rested his head on the bed’s pillow before biting his lip softly. He found enjoyment in watching Caleb’s blue eyes the most. They were the same color as his favorite hydrangeas his parents grew in their garden. A color dark and beautiful on its own, but in the sunlight, it has an enchanting shimmer to it. The effect was one of the few nice aspects of being on the ocean with the sun always beaming down on the group. He liked catching glimpses of Caleb’s eyes as the wizard read outside. They sparkled with a calm energy that was so rare to see in him these days. Caleb’s eyes were not the only noticeable difference. His shoulders were less stiff, his hair flowed gently with the sea’s wind, his lips had a small smile. Caduceus could almost feel the side of Caleb’s soft face as he imagined himself tucking the wizard’s hair behind his ear. 

Heat rose to Caduceus’ face as the image of a calm and relaxed Caleb came into his mind. A small, embarrassing noise escaped his throat without realizing it. His hands quickly reached up to cover a blush no one was there to see. At least so he thought. A small noise of a shifting person came from Fjord’s side of the room. “Hey. Everything alright Deusey?” Fjord’s rough voice interrupted Caduceus’ thoughts, startling the firbolg and causing him to sit up a little too fast. Fjord raised an eyebrow seeing his friend’s face. “If, uh, if you need me to leave for a minu-”

“Mr. Fjord, have you ever had a weird feeling for someone?” Caduceus interrupted. His voice did not have his usual slow pace, and there was something caught in his throat. Fjord, feeling awkward energy emanating from Caduceus, cleared his own throat as he lifted the bedsheets away from him and lit a nearby candle with a spare match. The orc’s eyes were sunken in and he could barely keep them open. 

“Well, wha-what kind of feeling?”

Caduceus rubbed his face as he thought about his words. “I-Like you think about them a lot. You notice all the little details about them and your face becomes kinda hot when you do. I think my heart is pounding again.” He placed his hand over his chest. It wasn’t pounding as hard as it did when he was talking to Caleb but still felt quite heavy. 

Fjord gave a short, amused chuckle. “Yeah, I know what you got.” Caduceus’ face lit up with a hopeful smile at his words. “I think you’re in love.”

The smile drifted away as Caduceus processed the information. He looked down as his hands folded over each other. That would explain a lot. He never fell in love before, but it did have similarities to how others described it to him. Namely how his older sister described it when she met a nice boy from the small town near their home. 

“Oh, you think so?”

Fjord nodded with a yawn. “Probably. I mean, you can do a little healing spell on yourself to make sure, but I don’t think it’ll do much honestly.” A few seconds of silence passed. Caduceus continued his staring without saying anything to Fjord. He shifted in his bed while eyeing the door while Caduceus sat almost completely still. “You sure you don’t need me to leave?”

Caduceus shook his head slowly. “No, you don’t have to. Thank you, Fjord. I just have to processes this a bit.”

“Not a problem Deusy. Sleep tight.” Fjord lazily lifted the sheets back over his head, signaling the end of his want in the conversation. 

“You too, Mr. Fjord.” Caduceus replied though he would not be surprised if Fjord already fell asleep and could not hear him. The firbolg followed suit as he rested his head back on the pillow. He stared at the ceiling as his hand clutched the periapt. So he was in love with Caleb, wasn’t he? The thought of Caleb outside on the ship’s deck came back. His eyes were sparkling and his smile was so faint yet ever so present. A long breath left Caduceus as he finally closed his eyes. He’ll admit it, he felt pretty in love.


End file.
